Countdown
by girlinthesun
Summary: Written for halloween fanfiction on Tumblr. Collab with Vahonica. "I will count to one hundred." He smirked and waggled his open fingers. "Run and hide, marimo, then I will come find you."


This was written for halloween fanfiction on Tumblr.  
>Before you read, since this a crossover between One Piece and Tokyo Ghoul, you might want to know what a <em>kagune<em> is (if you don't know already).

**_Kagune: _**A kagune is a ghoul's predatory organ and functions as their weapon and claws. It is usually as red as blood; and flexible like the flow of water, but firm and sturdy. When released, a ghoul's physique is strengthened, they are more resilient and their mobility heightens. (from Tokyo Ghoul Wikia)  
>Basically, it's like a third arm, but slighty different, like a tentacle.<p>

_**Countdown**_

Sanji secured the locker to the lowered shutter of the storage room, then he took a step back.  
>The noise of metal screeching against metal echoed in the alley, bouncing from building to building as the blond's hands left the locker.<br>Feeling satisfied, he clapped his hands together to get rid of the dust, then he turned on his heels and started walking home.  
>The sun was setting rapidly in the horizon; in less than an hour the curfew would begin, but he didn't mind.<br>There was only one thing in his mind: it was nearly dinner time, and he was hungry.

Zoro slowly opened his eyes, waking up from his afternoon nap, and yawned.  
>He took a look around, trying to get a sense of where he was, when finally he remembered: he was studying in the school library, and then...<br>Shit. He must have fallen asleep on his books again.  
>He sighed and lazily picked up all of his things before he noticed the complete silence that surrounded him. It shouldn't have been so strange, after all he was in a library, one of the most silent places in the world.<p>

Nevertheless, there wasn't a sound; not the rustling of turning pages, nor the occasional cough of dust-allergic people, or the background buzzing of students that couldn't keep their mouths shut.

The doubt of having overslept pervaded him, so he decided to check the time. He took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it...

Shit, shit, shit!  
>It was 7.30 p.m.<br>It was half an hour before the start of curfew, and he was fucked; he lived too far away from the school to try and get home before 8.

He wanted to curse everyone, every person that could have possibly woken him up, but didn't. In all honesty, he knew that they couldn't have known that he was there, because Zoro always chose to sit in the furthest and most hidden corner of the library, where no one ever wandered, not even the librarian.  
>Damn him!<p>

He threw a punch at the nearest shelf, trying to put a break in that overwhelming silence. Then he ran a hand through his green locks with a frustrated sigh.  
>He grabbed his backpack and exited the library, walking quickly towards the school exit.<br>Maybe, if he ran all the way home, he would arrive safe and sound.

The echoes of his own footsteps disquieted him, making him go just a bit faster.  
>When he saw the exit, he felt incredibly relieved, but as soon as he reached the door, every last bit of calm abandoned his body: he was locked inside the building.<br>He tried to force the handle, but it was all in vain; he hated that stupid metal barrier with all his heart.

He stopped trying and rested his forehead on the cold, glassy surface, overwhelmed with anxiety.

This was a really horrible situation.  
>The only thing left to do was hide and pray that no one found him that night.<br>Maybe he could pass the night like that.

Sanji was walking through his usual dark alley, one that was more spacious, just so he could take a walk before going back home.

It was a quiet night, the sky was clear, and Sanji was daydreaming about the tasty dinner that he was going to make himself once he got home.  
>He breathed the fresh air in deeply, and in that moment the breeze swept up the unexpected, piercing smell of <em>meat<em>.  
>He stopped suddenly, sniffing his surroundings, not unlike an animal that smelt its prey, and his heart started beating faster when he realized where it came from.<br>He grinned and jogged in that direction, occasionally catching a whiff to be sure of where he was going. His hunger became more and more intense with every step he took and, in the end, he found himself in front of the high school.  
>Without thinking twice about it, Sanji broke into the building, ready to hunt.<p>

It was a few minutes into curfew now, and after leaving his backpack inside his locker, Zoro was trying to find a place, a bit hidden and far away from the windows, where he could spend the night.  
>He really hated the school, and the thought of being trapped in there for the whole night didn't appeal to him at all.<br>He was scared, even though he tried to hide it even from himself. He tried to reassure himself that nothing would happen if he avoided detection, but this was a really dangerous situation in every way and he couldn't ignore the fact.

He let out a frustrated sigh, trying to suffocate the anxiety that was slowly closing his throat, and he stopped for a second in front of the gym doors.  
>That was a good place to lay low for the night: the windows were very small and in a high place on the walls, and there were those big gymnastics mats – even if the chances of him sleeping were none. At least he would be comfy.<p>

He slipped into the room that was rather creepily cavernous in the dark, and he decided to hide in the storage room where all the gym tools and the mats were kept.  
>He sat down on one of the mats, making himself comfortable, resting his back against the wall, and sighed.<br>Again, the absolute silence fell over the whole building, and Zoro's thoughts were the loudest thing that he could hear; it felt like his head was connected to some speakers, and like everything that Zoro thought was being shouted through them.

He was trying to prevent panic from taking over him, when he was startled by a loud crash.  
>A chill ran down his spine: oh no, that surely came from inside the school!<br>There was a moment of complete silence, where Zoro held his breath, even though his lungs burnt from the lack of oxygen. Then the faint sound of slow footsteps started to be closer and closer to Zoro, who was shivering slightly, shaken by cold chills of fear, and he was trying to become completely silent and somehow invisible.

For a moment there wasn't a sound: the air was still as if time had stopped.  
>Then it felt like Zoro became suddenly aware of his quickened breath, even if he was trying to keep it under control, and the storage room's door was unhinged, brutally torn and thrown to the other side of the gym.<br>The green haired boy got up, but he had nowhere to run, with his back pushed against the wall.  
>Shit.<p>

"There you are."

In the threshold of the door appeared a dark figure, barely discernible from the darkness of the night.  
>A chuckle left the lips of the man, while he swept the dust off of his clothes with quick movements.<p>

"Your scent's so strong that I could smell you from the main street."  
>Zoro took a deep breath and stepped away from the wall, hiding his fear. He couldn't be seen as weak.<br>He clenched his fists on his sides and tightened his jaw, taking a firm and determined posture.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked with loud and clear voice.  
>The man took a step forward, and the pale moonlight that came from one of the little windows lit him up.<p>

Finally his face was visible to Zoro: he was really pale, with tapered features, a straight nose and an eye covered by a long lock of blond hair. The other one was shining cerulean in the dim light.  
>He was tall and slim, standing on two legs that seemed to go on forever, wrapped in smart black trousers.<br>At first sight, he seemed like a normal person. More or less. But Zoro wasn't fooled. Not after that display of ripping the door clean off its joints.

Zoro scanned him for a long time, while a sense of familiarity washed over his fear for a moment.  
>He was sure he had already seen the blond somewhere else, but...<br>The realization hit him right in the face: this man was a waiter at the Baratie, the restaurant where Zoro often went with his friends, whenever they had some time and money. How many times had the blond cook served them? How many times had Zoro spoken to him? And he never even suspected anything. The blond man knew fully well how to look just like a normal human being, and this made Zoro furious.

The irony of the situation lingered for a moment in his mind: a monster that ate humans, taking utmost care in feeding its own prey.

The blond haired guy lightly cocked his head to the side, looking back at the boy: he was muscular, with something so appetizing about him that Sanji's stomach growled, urging him to eat the boy already.  
>A little part of him did recognize Zoro from among the faces that frequented his restaurant, and he was sorry to lose such a good client, but the bigger part of him said that it was time to have fun.<br>He took another step forward, grinning viciously and licking his lips with a determined and predatory look in his visible eye.

Zoro, on the other hand, had absolutely _no_ intention of being eaten, so he acted without thinking.  
>He quickly ran up the metallic stair that led to an upper platform, in the furthest corner of the gym; he had the useless hope that the monster wouldn't follow him, but when Zoro realized that his plan had failed, it was too late. Sanji had already caught up to him with a leap and he had pushed Zoro against the tinny handrail, blocking both his hands.<p>

"Well, don't run away so soon..." he whispered, moving closer to Zoro.  
>With that short distance that kept them apart, Zoro noticed every single detail about the monster, from the bright blue of his eyes – well, the visible one – to the beard that covered his chin. He was so goddamn attractive, but he was also horribly dangerous.<p>

Sanji tightened the hold he had on Zoro's wrists and he moved – if possible – even closer.  
>He grinned, his head leaning towards Zoro's neck, and he lightly brushed his cold nose against the warm skin of the green haired boy, who tried to edge back.<p>

"Mhm, delicious..." the blond sighed, then he breathed Zoro's scent in deeply.  
>Zoro stayed still, trying to think of a way to escape that monster's grasp.<br>In the meanwhile, Sanji straightened up, and showed off his sharp teeth again, moving a little bit away from Zoro.

"I will count to one hundred." He smirked and waggled his open fingers. "Run and hide, marimo, then I will come find you."

"One."  
>It took a few microseconds for Zoro to realize that he was finally free and able to run away, and he did so without delay.<p>

"Two."  
>Zoro jolted down the stair, its metallic echo covered Sanji's voice for a moment, then he ran towards the gym door.<p>

"Three."  
>His footsteps reverberated on the polished hardwood floor, and it was like every sound was amplified, and the monster's voice seemed to be everywhere around Zoro.<p>

"Four."  
>Adrenaline was running through his veins, pushing him forward.<br>He crashed against the heavy doors of the gym and opened them, jolting through the school hallways.

"Five."  
>Zoro stopped at an intersection where four different hallways opened around him. He tried to clear up his thoughts and to recall how the school was built to understand where the main exit – or an emergency one – was.<p>

"Six."  
>Unfortunately, his brain didn't want to help him in any way, so he just choose a random direction, resuming his run towards freedom.<p>

"Thirty-four."

Several seconds had already passed as he found himself in the cafeteria. Chairs where piled up on the white tables, and Zoro moved around 'till he was in the kitchen, where he knew there was an exit, the one that the cook used to bring food from the truck to the storeroom, or the fridge.

"Thirty-five."  
>Dammit!<br>Zoro tried to force open the handle, but to no use: the door was locked.

"Thirty-six."  
>He didn't have to panic, surely there would have been another way to escape, he was positive about it.<p>

"Forty."  
>He turned on his heels and headed back to the cafeteria at a quick pace. How the fuck did that monster come in?! It was impossible that he had just magically appeared inside the school.<p>

"Fifty-six."  
>Zoro's legs seemed to move on their own, leading him where they wanted to – he hoped it was towards the exit.<p>

"Fifty-seven."  
>He still had plenty of time. –88. He could do it, he just had to figure out where the monster came in and go out from the same spot.<p>

"Fifty-eight."  
>The boy turned the umpteenth corner and he found himself in a dead end. Sighing in frustration, he turned around and started to run again.<p>

"Sixty-six."  
>He found himself running up the stairs that led to the second floor, thinking about finding the door to the fire exit.<p>

"Sixty-seven."  
>Without knowing how, he ended up in the chemistry lab.<br>He looked around, his breath short because of all that running, and his gaze fell on the door on the other end of the room.

"Sixty-eight."  
>They've never used that door, so Zoro didn't know where it led, but he couldn't care less.<br>He shrugged and went through the door.

"Sixty-nine."  
>He was in another classroom – was it the art classroom? He didn't know, he had never been in there, and he didn't even care.<p>

"Seventy."  
>He ran across the room and opened another door, just to end up in another classroom.<br>That school was a fucking labyrinth.

"Seventy-five."  
>He let out a frustrated moan, then staggered in the hallway, nearly out of breath, and bumped into the fire extinguisher, where his bandanna got caught. It got ripped and fell to the floor.<p>

"Seventy-six."

Zoro couldn't find any way to escape the building, probably he was panicking too much to be able to think properly of something to do.  
>In the end, the only thing he could think of was the panic rushing through his body: his footsteps sinisterly echoed, in synchrony with his quickened heartbeat and his panting.<p>

He couldn't do it.

He was mentally shattered.

He felt a lump in his throat that made it more and more difficult for him to breathe.  
>He stayed still for a moment, panting, then his legs gave up and he fell to the floor, raising his knees to his chest.<br>Dammit. He'd just let panic take over him.  
>That situation was psychologically scarring and Zoro couldn't do it anymore, he just wanted everything to end as soon as possible.<br>He tried to take a deep breath and closed his eyes, gasping and sobbing.  
>He felt as if he had a rock inn his chest, and his head was spinning. He knew he had to take a deep breath and let at least a bit of oxygen in before he fainted, but it was never <em>enough.<br>_He loosened the grip he had around his legs and, leaning against the wall behind him, he lifted himself up. His legs were shaking, but he forced himself to regain control over his own mind.  
>He rested his back against the wall and he inhaled a big breath of fresh air, finally opening his eyes.<br>When Zoro came back to reality, the monster's voice reverberated through the walls.

"Ninety."  
>And to Zoro, it felt like a lash on bare skin.<p>

"Ninety one."  
>With a lightning movement, he moved away from the wall and took a look around. Why did the monster's voice suddenly seem so close?<p>

"Ninety two."

He jolted towards the opposite direction from where the voice came from, cursing under his breath.  
>He was fucked.<p>

"Ninety three."

He suddenly stopped in front of the janitor's room and an idea popped in his mind: he had to find a weapon, something so he could defend himself.

"Ninety four."  
>He opened the door and looked inside. He needed something heavy, but handy, something that could hurt... but there was nothing useful in there.<p>

"Ninety five."

He rummaged inside the toolbox on the highest shelf and a tiny bit of hope made its way in his body.

"Ninety six."  
>He grabbed the crowbar that had caught his attention, and he exited the janitor's room, starting to walk around the hallways.<p>

"Ninety seven."

He tightened his grip around the heavy metal, moving around in the most silent way he could manage.

"Ninety eight."  
>The voice sounded closer and louder with every step he took, but every time he thought the monster was behind him, breathing down his neck, his voice suddenly seemed so far away that Zoro barely heard it, somewhere hidden in the school.<p>

"Ninety nine."

_Here we are,_ Zoro thought.  
>He held his breath and waited: just another second, and everything will have ended.<p>

"_One hundred."_

Zoro looked around nervously, standing still, sweating, with his hands closed tightly around his weapon; he was expecting an assault every moment from now.  
>All of this had to finish soon.<p>

Sanji smirked, creeping silently through the hallways, following the green haired boy's scent. He wasn't very far, Sanji could feel it.  
>The blond smelled the air and he let out a satisfied sigh, stepping closer to one of the fire extinguishers; on the floor, there was the black bandanna that Sanji had seen before around Zoro's arm.<br>He picked it up and brought it close to his face, sniffing deeply. He moaned, inhaling again: that boy smelt delicious... it excited Sanji just thinking about how he would _taste_.

He started walking again, faster than before, looking forward to finding the human.

His footsteps were dead silent against the linoleum floor, and as Sanji got closer to him, the boy's smell got stronger.

He arrived at a corner of the hallway and there he could clearly sense the presence of the student, thanks to the loud breathing that Sanji heard coming near him. He rested his back against the wall and smiled: the moment had finally come.  
>He waited a few more seconds, completely silent, then he decided it was time for dinner.<p>

With a quick movement, he rounded the corner, and the green haired boy didn't even have time to turn around before Sanji had pinned him to the cold floor with his kagune, that flickered nervously.

But Zoro didn't give in so easily to the strength of those inhuman limbs, but he found a way to turn around; he was still trapped in the bifurcate kagune, that emitted a black-blueish dim glow.

The threatening glare that Sanji was giving Zoro became stronger, to the point where it seemed like it pierced a hole through Zoro's bones, making him shiver slightly when a cold chill ran down his spine.

Sanji grinned maliciously, cocking his head to the side.

"I found you."

Zoro tightened his jaw and tried to escape, but he could only feel the kagune's grip getting stronger around him.  
>He swallowed, looking around to find his weapon that had fallen from his hands when Sanji had attacked him; unfortunately, it had fallen away from him, just out of reach.<p>

He cursed under his breath, moving his gaze back on the monster, who was walking slowly towards him.

With his kagune, Sanji easily lifted Zoro from the floor, as if he was a rag doll and nothing more, and then pinned the boy against the wall, so that he was hanging just a few centimeters off the ground.

Zoro tried to escape once again, fighting, and for a moment he nearly succeeded. But the monster was faster than him, and Sanji had caught him again, roughly this time, so his kagune cut Zoro's chest diagonally from side to side.  
>Zoro hissed, pain rushing throughout his body, while Sanji slammed him against the wall.<p>

Sanji licked his own lips, staring into the student's eyes, less than a step away from him; the blond was ready to eat him, he was so hungry, and the smell of the boy's blood was so tempting...

The blond cook hurled himself at the boy, biting down on his shoulder, and Zoro swallowed hard, trying not to scream because of the pain that was taking over his senses, and instead he let out an anguished rattle.

Sanji shushed him and sank his teeth deeper in the boy's flesh, but in that moment something hit him hard like a ton of bricks – something dawned on him that he didn't quite understand.

Suddenly, he stepped back, loosening his grip on Zoro, who was shocked and slipped onto the floor.

They looked each other in the eyes for seconds that felt like little eternities; there was a light in Zoro's black eyes, and there was something of his taste that stopped Sanji. Maybe it was the sensation that every little bit of the boy was fighting desperately to stay alive, or maybe it was that look so full of ambition that awed Sanji, making him unable to kill him. He didn't understand why, but he couldn't – he didn't want to kill him.  
>Sanji growled in frustration, then hissed, annoyed, and withdrew his kagune. Then, with one last look at the green haired boy, he turned away and jumped out of the window, making the glass shatter.<p>

Zoro watched him go away, clutching his torn shoulder; he was confused to say the least, and really, really, tired.  
>What the fuck had just happened?!<br>He felt his heart aching for some reason, and he didn't understand anything anymore, but he decide that if the gods above, or whatever it was, decided to give him the opportunity to live, he wouldn't waste it.

He lifted himself up from the floor, and slowly made his way out of the school – strangely enough, he immediately found a door that wasn't locked in any way – and went to search for help.

**[A few months later]**

Sanji was crouched behind the bushes, following the boy with his gaze: he seemed okay, no different from the last time laid eyes on him.  
>The blond ghoul still felt that strange sensation, right in the middle of his chest, as if something was crushing his heart, but he had learned to ignore it.<p>

He grunted and huffed, quickly walking away when the bell rang, and the students – the green haired boy too – started to enter the school gates.

Zoro turned around for a moment, before he stepped inside the school, and – just like every other morning since that night – in the corner of his eyes he caught a movement, a glimpse of blond hair not too far from him.  
>Shivering, he followed the other students inside the building.<p> 


End file.
